President says Windies will benefit

published by ikhan on Mon, 02/17/2014 - 17:58

Trinidad Express article.

Port of Spain, Trinidad - West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Whycliffe “Dave” Cameron yesterday reassured cricket lovers that the regional team will be playing more cricket over the next eight years as a result of the recent changes in the governance structure of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

During a WICB press conference yesterday, Cameron fielded questions from the media concerning the benefits of the new ICC structure, insisting that “the amended key principles that cover governance, financing and structure will allow the game to grow and develop the game in the Caribbean and in the Americas far more robustly and vigorously.”

The WICB was one of eight full members of the ICC to vote in favour of the new proposal which was approved at the ICC Board meeting in Singapore earlier this month.

Cameron explained that the new financing proposals will allow the WICB to negotiate, on a bilateral basis, tours to other countries from which it will earn direct revenue which will be welcome especially in the face of a WICB deficit which the Board is expecting to have at the end of the financial year.

While he could not give details of the future tours and home series, he said: “We can inform you as well that the WICB have already secured commitments from the major countries to play an increased number of matches and series over the next eight years.”

“Currently, the West Indies have the most unfavorable matches based on the Future Tours Programme (FTP) and you would notice that we have been playing Bangladesh New Zealand every year for the last two or three years and that is why the WICB is set to have a massive deficit at the end of our financial year which ends in September,” the WICB president added.

“The new proposals will allow the WICB to increase the number of profitable tours it hosts while decreasing the amount of unprofitable tours it is obliged to host under the FTP. The WICB will be able to negotiate fees when the West Indies team plays in an away series. The WICB is confident we will be able to negotiate more for our brand which is the most significant consideration,” Cameron added.

“The overriding principle for us was that if our brand gets stronger, which we know it will, then we can command more,” he said.

“In the current FTP we could not command more irrespective of the situation because we only get paid when we host tours. In this new structure, we will be able to charge when we go away on tours as well,” the president explained.